A high-profile dog theft took place Wednesday night when a man shot a dog walker and absconded with two French bulldogs belonging to musician Lady Gaga. The pop star has offered a $500,000 reward for their return, no questions asked.
While the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) declined to name the victim, they described him as a 30-year-old male. The shooting occurred about 9:40 p.m. Wednesday in the 1500 block of North Sierra Bonita Avenue. A male suspect was observed fleeing in a white vehicle, north on Sierra Bonita Avenue towards Hollywood Boulevard. The wounded dog walker was taken to a hospital in unknown condition, police said.
Police did not name the victim, but friends identified him as 30-year-old Ryan Fischer.
Fischer was walking three of Lady Gaga’s dogs at the time, and the attackers made off with two of them, named Koji and Gustav. A third dog, a black French bulldog named Miss Asia, escaped from the suspect and returned to Fischer.
TMZ released surveillance video that captures the incident, apparently recorded by a home security system on Sierra Bonita Avenue. The video shows Fischer walking on the sidewalk when a white sedan pulls up and stops in the street, with two people jumping from the back seat and saying, “Give it up.”
Fischer resists the suspects, yelling out for help and fighting over the dogs until a single gunshot can be heard. Fischer then falls to the ground, screaming. The assailants each grab one dog and jump into the rear seat of the car, leaving Fischer on the ground crying out, “I’ve been shot!” As the assailants’ vehicle disappears from view, Gaga’s black bulldog, Miss Asia, runs to Fischer’s side as he lays on the ground.
Lady Gaga, who is in Italy filming a movie, has not spoken publicly, but multiple outlets reported she is offering a no-questions-asked $500,000 reward for the return of the dogs, and tips can be emailed to kojiandgustav@gmail.com.
The singer’s father, New York restaurant owner Joe Germanotta, told the New York Post the family is “just sick over it. It’s really horrible. It’s like someone took one of your kids.”
He told Fox News that Fischer is a friend of the family, and he asked for the public’s help to “catch these creeps.”
“Horrible people in L.A.,” Germanotta told the station. “Shooting someone in order to steal dogs is wrong.”
